Share story

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton took to Twitter on Friday morning to endorse a Washington state ballot initiative that would require paid sick leave and boost the state minimum wage to $13.50 an hour.

“We have to do more to raise wages & support paid leave for hardworking families. I stand with @Raise_Up_WA in their work to do just that,” Clinton wrote in a tweet, signed “H.”

She was referring to the union-backed Raise Up Washington campaign, which has filed Initiative 1433, aimed at the November ballot.

I-1433 would raise the state minimum wage, currently at $9.47 an hour, to $13.50 by 2020. It also would require employers to provide up to seven days of paid sick leave per year.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s rival for the Democratic nomination, has backed an even larger increase in the $7.25-an-hour federal minimum wage, which he has said should be raised to $15 over several years.

Late Friday afternoon, Sanders also voiced support for I-1433, sending a tweet congratulating the campaign “for taking the first step to a $15/hr. min. wage and paid leave.”

Clinton has endorsed a more modest federal minimum-wage increase, to $12 an hour.

The Association of Washington Business led efforts last year opposing legislation to raise the state minimum wage to $12 an hour, arguing it would cost jobs.

After that proposal stalled, backers followed up on promises to bypass the Legislature and file an initiative seeking an even larger increase.